BizNews Radio

London-based South African money manager Sean Peche is flying right now, with a value-based approach elevating his Randmore Funds into the top one percentile according to performance monitoring company Morningside. Peche has shared some of the love with the BizNews tribe – recommending two stocks that shot the lights out since being including in our model portfolios. In-form Peche explains to BizNews’s Alec Hogg how his process of seeking value and ignoring fashion helped him dodge performance-killing bullets – and a warning that the next shoe to drop could be a downrating of shares in top-quality multinational companies.

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It may well have been a case of buy on rumour, sell on fact for traders as Transaction Capital’s share price fell 5% in the wake of the release of its financial results for the year to end September – that despite a 24% earnings rise and a 35% hike in the dividend payment. CEO David Hurwitz is unperturbed, projecting 20% plus growth into the forseeable future, the exponential expansion driven by exceptionally performing WeBuyCars (now 43% of group profit) and the debt collection and BPO division Nutun. In this results day interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, Hurwitz multi-tasks his way to explaining why the future remains bright for the highly rated group – despite Mr Market’s negative initial reaction to the published figures.

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oneer swimmer Lewis Pugh takes on endurance swims in the most endangered parts of the world to highlight global warming. It included swims in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the run-up to COP27, the climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Pugh became the first swimmer ever to cross the Red Sea, from Saudi Arabia to Egypt. He swam over some of the most precious coral in the world and invited world leaders to put their heads in the water to see what would be lost if the world continues on its track of global warming. Pugh told BizNews that the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius, which resulted in devastating floods, wildfires and displacement. If it warms to 1.5 degrees Celsius, “We lose 70% of the world’s coral.” Pugh, who spent most of his formative years in South Africa, also speaks about the waves in the Red Sea that “twisted him like a koeksister”, the shark that appeared, how the man nicknamed ‘the Polar Bear’ doesn’t really like to swim in icy water, and about the day that he met former British Prime Minister Tony Blair… wearing a ‘sopping’ Speedo. – Linda van Tilburg

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A theme that has stood out for Peter van Kerckhoven, Co-Head: Debt Finance, Nedbank Corporate Investment Banking ,at COP27 is that of carbon credit trading which appears to be gaining some real momentum. Peter believes that given the robust conversations he's heard at COP27, we may see concrete steps on carbon credit training trading sooner than anticipated. Peter also gives his views on South Africa's Just Energy Transition Plan which was launched at COP27 by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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In the third episode of our four-part series unpacking Crypto, Luno’s GM Marius Reitz and Bowman’s partner Joshua Janks have the perfect platform for discussing SA’s digital currency regulation. The multi-billion-dollar collapse of Bahamas-based FTX, which went into bankruptcy over the weekend, supports the wisdom of the slow-but-thorough approach by SA’s regulators. The duo discusses the current state of regulation in SA, providing context on the October 19 declaration by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority that crypto assets are a financial product.

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Communities have to be part of the conversation in driving energy solutions with Eskom incapable of meeting the country’s base demand. The Afrikaner Africa Initiative (AAI) has concluded an energy indaba, which brought together industry heavyweights, municipalities, venture capitalists, and current and former Eskom executives. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel sat down with Chris Opperman, convener of the AAI, for a broad-ranging discussion on what possible solutions came out of the conference. Opperman is resolute that civil society and local government need to be talking to one another. The conference wasn’t about deliberating the merits or otherwise of particular technologies, but was simply about creating the platform to showcase what is out there as South Africa continues to languish under the worst year of load shedding since it was first introduced in 2007.

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Thiago Almeida – Divisional Executive-Client Coverage, Nedbank Corporate Investment Banking – weighs in on Water Day at COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

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Joanne Bate, COO of the Industrial Development Corporation, is leading conversations around green hydrogen and new energy with regards to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Plan. We caught up with her at COP27.

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Renergen’s story about turning a Free State helium and natural gas deposit into a massive profit generator attracted a horde of retail investor fans. But in recent months, Renergen’s share price has fallen 34% and at its current R27, is a world away from respected small cap analyst Keith McLachlan’s R67 valuation. The stock returned to earth after its pilot plant’s production deadline was missed - first because of Covid-lockdown related delays, then by a faulty oil heating system. CEO Stefano Marani has also had to deal with a cold shoulder from controversial mining company Ivanhoe, and leaks in Australia that aborted a capital raising exercise. On the upside, he reckons the glitches have all been dealt with and expects the pilot plant to produce its first helium soon (“not months”) - triggering funding of a massive $1bn commercial plant (half via the US government) which will potentially transform the company. Stefano spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

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Having attended COP27 in Durban in 2011, Portia believes that so much progress has been made on issues of climate finance and how the conversation is framed. As a sustainability practitioner she is also acutely aware of the fact that we don't have much time left in order to address the climate emergency.

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